Nail-box for automatic nailing-machines



(No Model.) I

, H. H. HIGHAM.

NAIL BOX FOR AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINES. No. 544,226. Patented Aug. 6,1895.

n Wm 2 w H m g M n H A ill v a V/Wfl/ 3 FIG l Z) H A FIG: 3

mtntness TAES HOWARD H. HIGHAM, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

NAIL-BOX FOR A UTOMATlC NAlLlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,226, dated August 6, 1895.

Application filed July 25, 1892. Serial No. 441,107- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: f

Be it known that I, HOWARD H. HIGHAM,a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Nail-Boxes for Automatic Nailing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of an improvement in that portion of an automatic box-nailing machine which is known as the nail-box, the structure thus designated being commonly a combination of several parts known as the box, the punch, the dies, and the springs, the object of the parts so combined being to permit a nail to pass between the dies when the punch is on the upstroke, and the purpose of the dies backed by the springs being to hold the nail in position by the rigid gripping of some part of the same in order that the descending punch will drive or force the nail into the wood.

It will be readily understood that the more perfectly the nail is held in an upright position before and during the action of the punch the greater likelihood there will be that the nail will be driven straight into the wood, and this is the great desideratum, for it will be apparent that deviation of the nail from a straight line while it is under the action of the punch will cause the nail to be driven to one side or the other, and thus in very many cases to pass completely out through one side of the piece into which it should be driven, especially in driving the nails into the thin sides or other parts of packing-boxes, so that the nail will have to be driven back and reinserted by hand.

In many of the constructions of nailingmachines now on the market effort has been made to retain the nail in the proper vertical position and to hold it in this position while being driven by means of dies clutching the nail at or near the point; but as in all such arrangements the greater portion of the nail is unsupported, the springs which act upon the dies must of necessity be so strong that the head of the nail and the punch passing between the dies soon wear both dies and punch to that degree that in spite of frequent repairs the nails will not be driven straight. This is particularly the case when the wood is one having a pronounced grain such as the southern pines. Hence it is the common practice to drive all nails by hand when the side of the box or other piece into which the nails are to be driven is comparatively light.

In those cases wherean attempt has been made to so construct the nail-box as to more perfectly control the nail the devices usually employed have been so liable to get outof order as to prove a constant source of annoyance, and such devices are moreover limited to a particular gage of nailsuch as the ordinary wire nail.

In carrying out my invention I provide a nail-box so simple in construction that it cannot readily get out of order, while it has the widest range both as to length and gage of nail, provides for the perfect guidance of the nail during the entire driving operation, and is equally well adapted for either wire nails or'for the less uniform and cheaper cut nails, the dies and springs, moreover, being so constructed and so located as to cause the least amount of friction on the nail compatible with the desired rigidity of support. Provision is also made for seeing the nails as they are fed to and rest in the dies, such view being obtained without removal of any part of the nail-box.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a nail-box for an automatic nailing-machine constructed in accordance with'one form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a different form, showing some of the parts in a different position;

of the nails to the dies and avertical passage f b, through which passes the punch B for forcing the nails from the dies and into the wood.

The dies D which I employ are sufficient in number to properly grasp and hold the nail, four of these dies being shown in the present instance, although a less or greater number may be used, if desired. The dies are located within a recess or bore d at the bottom of the box A, this bore being of greater diameter internally than the external diameter of the set of dies.

Surroundingthesetofdiesaud fittingsnugly to the bore of the box are two elastic rings f f, the ringf being located close to the bottom of the set of dies and the ring f some distance above the same, a suitable screw-cap g or equivalent means being employed to retain the dies-vertically within the box, while not interfering with the free lateral spreading of the dies when the latter are subjected to such force, exerted internally, as will compress the spring-bands ff, surroundingthe dies. The upper portion of each dieis flared or beveled outwardly, so that the opening presented by the dies for the reception of the nail is flared or coned at the top, so as to properly direct the shank or body of the nailinto position between the dies when said nail is fed down through the inclined passage a, the nail when in position resting between the dies, while the head of the nail rests at the base of the tapering pocket or recess at the top of the dies. The nail is thus inclosed by the dies throughout its entire length and is consequently held in an upright position before the punch B commences to act upon it, and when said punch begins to act the dies are not forced apart simultaneously throughout their whole length, but are spread gradually as the nail is driven down throughthe same, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the nail always has at least two points of bearing upon the dies,one point of bearing being at the head of the nail and the other at the base of the dies, the latter not being spread suffieiently to interfere with their properguiding effect upon the nail until the head of the latter is about to pass from the dies, at which time the nail has been driven into the wood to such an extent that any deflection of the same from its true course is impossible.

In that portion of the box above the dies is formed a lateral opening 2', through which the operator may observe the nails as they are being fed into and rest in the dies. Hence the common objection of missing a nail or of driving two nails simultaneously is overcome and a serious disadvantage of ordinary naildriving machines, in which the nails in the nail-box are invisible to the operator, is thus obviated.

Owing to the fact that the nail is guided at two points and hence is not liable to depart from a straight line in being driven, the springs which act upon the dies can be much lighter than usual, with the accompanying advantages of reduced friction upon the nail and reduced wear upon the dies caused by the driving of the nail through the same, and both springs and dies can be readily changed to suit different gages of nails, as the springs can be readily shifted vertically in the bore d, and both dies and springs can be readily withdrawn from or introduced into the bore when the screw-cap g has been removed.

If desired, the dies can be made in sections, each set of horizontal sections having its own spring, as shown in Fig. l,so that each set of sections can yield independently of the others as the nail is driven through the dies.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A nail box for automatic nailing machines having dies constructed to engage the nail and hold the same in position for the action of the forcing punch in combination with springs encircling said dies, and adjustable vertically thereon so as to actupon different parts of the dies as required, substantially as specified.

2. A nail box for automatic nailing machines having dies in two or more sections constructed to engage the nail and hold the same in position for the action of the forcing punch, in combination with springs encircling each section of the dies, and adjustable Vertically thereon so as to act upon different parts thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HOXVARD II. IIIGIIAM.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM D. CONNER, HARRY SMITH. 

